Choosing the Right Business Continuity Software for Banks: A 5-Point Checklist

For banks, business continuity isn’t optional. From FFIEC guidance to SEC and FINRA rules, financial institutions are under constant pressure to document, test, and improve their resilience programs. 

But finding the right software to support that work—without adding complexity—can be a challenge.

This 5-point checklist will help you evaluate whether a continuity platform meets the real-world needs of banking—and see how solutions like BCMMetrics stack up.

1. Can Your Software Keep Up with Banking Regulations?

U.S. banks are required to maintain enterprise-wide continuity plans that align with regulatory frameworks, including those from FFIEC, FDIC, SEC, and FINRA. Software must support this in a few core ways:

• Provide built-in tracking for compliance with leading standards.
• Create audit-ready documentation: Business Impact Analyses (BIAs), risk assessments, and recovery strategies.
• Make it easier to maintain governance records for internal and external audits.

BCMMetrics is built with these realities in mind. It helps organize compliance activities and provides clean, exportable records without adding extra complexity.

Banks should expect software to keep pace with changing compliance standards, not lag behind them.

2. Does It Do Systematized Risk and Impact Assessments?

Synchronization with disaster recovery protocols is essential, and platforms should support built-in risk indicators. 

This kind of integration ensures that continuity planning isn’t abstract; it’s grounded in real operations.

Continuity planning starts with knowing what matters most.

BCMMetrics helps banks:

• Conduct structured BIAs with pre-built templates.
• Identify critical systems, processes, and dependencies.
• Set Recovery Time and Recovery Point Objectives (RTOs and RPOs) based on real business data.

No more managing risk assessments manually in Word or Excel. BCMMetrics gives you a straightforward way to collect, organize, and act on key information.

3. Is It Built for Real Testing—Not Just Shelfware?

Regulators expect plans to be tested regularly, not just stored away. FFIEC mandates annual continuity testing. So your software should support:

BCMMetrics lets you:

• Record and track exercises and tests.
• Document post-incident outcomes.
• Highlight areas for improvement based on real-world events and simulations.

It provides a clear, organized record of your testing efforts, helping you close gaps faster and stay audit-ready.

4. Can You Understand Your Reports at a Glance?

Good continuity management demands clear visibility. With BCMMetrics, you can:

• Monitor plan status, recovery tasks, and compliance progress in real time.
• Generate reports that identify strengths, weaknesses, and risks.
• Share data easily with internal teams or auditors.

The dashboards in BCMMterics are easy to understand, so you can spend less time digging and more time making decisions.

5. Does It Make Continuity Management Easier?

BCMMetrics is designed to support the daily work of building, maintaining, and improving your program. It offers:

• Centralized storage for continuity plans and assessments.
• A structured framework that keeps plans updated and exercises documented.
• Reporting tools that support regulatory and internal reporting requirements.

If your new platform doesn’t support these, it won’t meet internal or external expectations for business continuity.

What to Look for Before Your Bank Commits to BC Software

The right software can simplify your audit process, improve how your team manages disruptions, and ensure your continuity plan is actually usable, not just regulatory shelfware.

The right platform should:

• Simplify compliance and audit preparation.
• Help your team manage continuity activities more efficiently.
• Provide clear visibility into your bank’s readiness.

BCMMetrics was built to do exactly that.

Discover What BCMMetrics Is and How It Works

BCMMetrics is a business continuity software platform that simplifies risk and resilience management. Designed by the experts at MHA Consulting, it gives mid-sized organizations an easier way to conduct BIAs, manage recovery planning, and stay compliant, all without the high cost or steep learning curve of traditional tools.

Its modular platform helps Business Continuity professionals across healthcare, insurance, utilities, and financial industries focus on impact, not administration.